Charities prepare for surge in those seeking help

The West Australian Council of Social Service says local charities are bracing for a surge in demand from families whose welfare payments have been reduced.

Single parents, whose youngest child is aged eight or more, are being moved onto the Newstart Allowance from this week.

The council's director of social policy Chris Twomey says under the new arrangements, they will receive up to $110 less each week.

He says about 8,000 families are affected in WA and charitable organisations are preparing for the fallout.

"There's two things we're expecting to see," he said.

"One is the immediate impact as the families struggle to get by on significantly less amounts of money.

"But a few months down the track many of them will have exhausted all of the networks and family and support they can call on, and that's when we may see them coming back and needing help and support to get by."

He says WA families will do it particularly tough thanks to the state's high rental rates.

"The charities and emergency relief organisations in WA are extremely concerned," he said.

"So certainly they've been getting ready for a spike in demand as a lot of families who are already close to the poverty line find themselves pushed below it and really struggle to get by."

WACOSS is calling on the Federal Government to move single parents back onto the original payment and increase Newstart by $50 a week.